2 years ago, BlackBerry received a lawsuit claiming that they had infringed upon six NXP patents in their BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet surrounding design, data transmission and other features of those devices. The lawsuit originally covered six patents, but NXP later dropped its claims related to three of the patents. NXP sought unspecified damages, including triple damages.
After less than a day of deliberation, the jury ruled in BlackBerry’s favor, in a trial that began on March 24, court records show.
| Spoiler Inside: Press Release |
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BlackBerry Wins Patent Infringement Case
WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – April 7, 2014) – BlackBerry(R) Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that a federal jury ruled in favor of BlackBerry in a patent infringement case brought by NXP BV in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division. The verdict was a sweeping victory for BlackBerry, as the jury found both that BlackBerry did not infringe NXP’s patents, and that the patents NXP asserted against BlackBerry are invalid.
“We are pleased with the jury’s verdict,” said Steve Zipperstein, Chief Legal Officer at BlackBerry. “While this is a victory for BlackBerry, we look forward to a time when technology companies will no longer be forced to spend huge amounts of time and money defending frivolous patent cases such as these, and instead invest their resources to drive innovation. Until then, we will vigorously defend our intellectual property rights and contest all meritless claims.”
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In a statement though, NXP said it is disappointed with the verdict and is investigating all options for appeal. NXP is listed on the Nasdaq as NXP Semiconductors NV.
Yea, they just lost their patents. As for BlackBerry, its great to see them have more resources to focus on even greater things now.
